Google Photos improves its collage creator with easier photo selection, sharing options

Will Sattelberg | Oct 14 2025 - 8:45 am PT

Google Photos is practically the default gallery app on Android, but that’s underselling just how powerful of a photo editor it is, especially with that new Create tab. With a new update, Photos is getting some big improvements to its collage creator, all intended to give more control to end users.

Google shared a detailed list of changes coming to its collage tools within the Photos support community, and it sounds like a pretty big shake-up for the status quo. Currently, creating a collage requires you to select your images immediately from your gallery, either by choosing up to six images from the jump or by selecting the collage option in the Create tab. That’s just one of the many things Google is improving with this update, with users now available to select an empty template rather than relying on their initial picks.

Google says users can add or remove photos directly from the editor, which is a subtle shift in terms of how the app previously operated. The template picker is an even bigger deal, though, allowing you to know exactly the format you’re looking for when selecting images. Considering how often I find myself choosing images that simply don’t fit, it’s a welcome change.

In addition, Photos is getting new templates that Google describes as “modern” and “clean,” along with event-specific layouts presumably based around holidays and other occasions. The app already features a pretty wide-ranging amount of templates, but I’ll never say no to more options. Finally, the menu system gets a share button built directly into the editor for easier exports outside the app, while the menu button receives a new “Getting started” function that explains the toolset and gives the option to send feedback.

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It’s unclear when Google plans to roll these changes out; I’m not seeing them on my Pixel 10 just yet. Overall, though, it sounds like a pretty welcome set of improvements for one of the most traditional methods of editing photos together.